White Flame
by nightmarethefirst
Summary: Every little girl dreams of fairy tales and happily ever after, even Melody Shard; until her siblings were born. Now shes a tomboy with an attitude, a midget mother, a fear of heights, a knack for trouble, an adrenalin jolt, and a serious hero dilemma. Getting in homework and fighting seriously lame villains is only the beginning of her chaotic world.
1. Because it does

Every storybook I've ever read starts with, 'Once upon a time,' and ends in, 'and they lived happily ever after,'. A princess gets taken by the bad guys and is rescued by her prince. That's the fairytale that every little girl wishes for. To meet a handsome prince, to be the damsel in distress, to have a grand adventure before they're too grown up. I loved stories like that when I was little. And then my little brother and sister were born.

My little siblings ruined it all—or at least began the ruination. After my little sister came along, my little brother followed, bringing a world of annoyance to the house. Sarah, my little sister, is four years younger than me, but my little brother Jesse is seven years younger. He's still only seven, and she's just eleven, but they both act like they're two. Sometimes I wonder why my mom decided to have more kids, but I've never been angry enough to ask her. I guess that's what happens when you're in a family of ice control freaks.

"Melody!"

That was my mom. She was a hero back in her day, about twenty years ago. She and my dad were a team—he was her side-kick—and they somehow ended up falling in love and getting married. She describes it as an extremely romantic story that I won't be ready for until I'm thirty, but my dad just shrugs it off most of the time.

Mom can freeze things and change the temperature in the room. My dad, though, can fly three feet off the ground. No seriously; three feet. Not like a real super-hero or anything cool like that. Nope, my dad can float off the ground for about an hour or so, just three feet. He claims he's gotten to four feet, but when he did, we had to call the paramedics, because he nearly choked to death with fear. Did I mention, he's afraid of heights?

Somehow, in the line of defeating evil with my mom, he romanced her with his lame three feet of floating and they got together and had me. Following me and their happiness came the two nuisances I call Jesse and Sarah.

I groaned and grabbed my bag, shoving pens and folders inside. Today was the first day of school; of high school. It wasn't going my favorite day of the year, I wagered from all the rumors I'd heard in middle school, but I didn't exactly have a choice, did I?

"Coming mom!" I shouted back to her., swinging my bag over my shoulder and piling my books together so I could carry them until I got my locker at school.

I patted down my burgundy and dark blue diamond vest and checked my white button up collar, feeling very girly in the 'schoolgirl' outfit my mom begged me to wear today. I could handle the button up tee with the rolled up sleeves, and even the vest to a point, but the gray and black pleated skirt my Aunt Debbie bought me last year? Ugh. Kill me now.

I ran a hand through my blonde ponytail once more, tightening it before I left my room.

"Ah, there you are," Mom said as I jumped three steps at a time into the kitchen to grab a glass of apple juice and an orange. I chugged the apple juice and decided to snack on the orange later.

"Your father wanted me to—"

"Sorry mom, I can't be late for the first day!" She sighed and handed me my sack lunch. I took the brown bag from her and said a thank you, trying to sneak around her to head for school, without another lecture on something silly, like watch for cars, or remember safe sex. I mentally shivered. That would _not_ be a road to travel again anytime soon.

A bunch of loud squeals came from upstairs. _Looks like Jesse and Sarah are awake_, I thought dimly to myself. Mom glanced up as more shouting and banging started, and we both sighed. She smiled at me knowingly, and I remembered when I was their age, though I hadn't been as wild as they were.

"Well, have a good day sweetie." She reached for a hug and buried me in her dainty arms. She was shorter than me by at least a foot, being 4"8 and the funniest looking mom on the suburban block. She had curly hair that she kept in the tightest bun you've ever seen, a really dark brown color, and eyes that said, 'I'm the ice mom, fear me!'. I get my light blue eyes from her, which is pretty cool.

"Gotta go mom, love you." I rushed out of her embrace and bolted for the front door, slipping out as quickly as possible, and down the drive-way before she could catch up to me. Outside, the bus was waiting across the street for all new students, and already I felt my stomach lurch with unease. Just ten feet away was my possible doom. The doom of high school.

Would the school be terrible? Would I not make any friends? Would I not make…hero? All of those questions zipped through my mind, penetrating my normal cool.

I shook my head anxiously and quickened my pace to the big, yellow, bulking bus. It scared me to my wits end, but I ground my teeth and clenched my fists to keep from chickening out at the last minute. This was not the time to change my mind and go to public school this year. It would be worse there; much, _much_ worse.

"Welcome to the Sky High school bus," a voice announced quietly. The slim folding doors opened and a red-faced, chubby man with a strange orange hat sat smiling with one hand on the wheel and the other on some type of handle. I half-smiled in return, exhaling and inhaling deeply before setting foot onto the bus.

Inside, I felt like the brown cracked leather and unwashed white ceiling were caving in on me. I blinked rapidly before taking in the rest of my surroundings. Kids my age filled all of the front seats, while some who looked a bit older filled the back. There were plenty of seats open, but when some of the older kids saw me coming, one look from them said not too. One look in particular, from some wannabe skater-goth boy set me off, so I pretended to keep looking, turned on my heel and plopped right down next to him before he could protest.

"Thanks for leaving this open," I said.

"Yeah, whatever," he mumbled, uninterested.

"Excuse me?" I asked angrily.

He turned his eyes towards me, which I now realized were ordinary brown, and raised his eyebrows. I glared in return, setting my bag firmly under the seat and crossing my arms over my chest. He sighed and rolled his eyes, turning back to the window. The driver waited while another student boarded, and then we began driving off at a slow pace that put my need for speed nerves on edge. The entire bus was quiet, but the awkward silence calmed me a bit and allowed me to collect myself as we drove on. After another few stops, we came to some kind of dead end with a road block sign. Crisscrossed seat belts shot out from just above our shoulders and hooked in the bottom of the seats.

"I don't think—" I began, but stopped when we shot forward.

We launched into the air without another word from anyone, and a sudden jolt sent my heart flying. The whole front part of the bus erupted into shouts and fearful screams, including me. Except the guy next to me and the rest of the bus, it was really loud.

"You must be a freshman," he shouted over the loud noise coming from our peers.

"You could tell?" I shouted back, wailing as we fell from the sky at a rapid pace. Suddenly a jerk pulled us up and we were soaring across the sky. All my previous nerves about the school being bad had vanished and were replaced by an exhilarating feeling of flying through the air. A wide grin spread over my face, leaving no room for anxiety. My unease drained away to let the excited emotions flit through my body.

"You're screaming as the bus falls; you're a freshman." I shot him a glare but couldn't help from smiling. The thrill of being up in the air with no limitations was amazing. "And you like danger," he noted with another uninterested tone. His voice was deeper than most guys I knew, and his face was much cuter, but I didn't think twice about it. There would probably be hundreds of super cute guys to observe and drool over when we got to school, ones that would be much nicer.

"How does liking danger make me a freshman?" I asked, rolling my eyes at him. So much for my happy mood, I thought to myself.

The bus came to a bumpy halt as we rammed against the bright green grass field of the floating school.

"Welcome to Sky High," the bus driver announced to everyone as they began filing, and stumbling, out of the bus. I jumped up and grabbed my books and bag, trying to walk with the crowd instead of against it like most were trying to do.

As I stepped out into the fresh air, my head pounded with adrenalin from the ride.

I stumbled a bit, but a hand caught me. "Ow," I muttered. His grip was really loose, but my headache responded instantly to any pressure. He let go immediately.

"Because it does," he answered. He walked away, giving me a final eye roll and strolled into the school as if he owned it.

"Ugh," I grumbled to myself. "Guys," I said out loud, receiving quite a few odd looks from any who overheard me.

The air was much cleaner and fresher up in the sky, I noted with genuine contentedness. It chilled my dizziness and cleared away my anxiety and adrenalin rush. I took in a deep breath and scrambled up my positive thoughts mom had talked to me about. I crossed my fingers for good luck, pushed my books closer to my chest, and walked as confidently as I could manage into what seemed like the most dreaded place on the planet; super hero school.


	2. All I need to kick your ass

Chapter two: all I need to kick your ass

The halls were bright and pale, with shades of gray and white intruding every surface, and also red and blues in certain spots too. It felt as if the whole place was as dull as any ordinary school. I suppose I expected something… different. More colors, posters and some super high tech stuff everywhere. That would have been a super school. Floating in the sky was holy-cow-whoa, don't get me wrong. But the plain building and average interior was screaming bore-fest and a much needed decorator, like my mom. Oh yeah, my mom was pretty bad to the bone with her interior designs and odd color labels like whiskey and shellfish; what kind of painter uses _shellfish_?

A low sigh escaped my lips as I walked to the administrative office to get my locker number and combination. After shoving past a bunch of sophomores, juniors and seniors, who rudely remarked crude names like fresh meat and such, I finally got there. The lady at the desk asked my name and handed me my locker information and my ID from when I registered last month. My smile was small and petite, like most of my features were, and my eyes were bright and blue, heightened by the flash of the camera. Even my white-blonde hair looked shiny in my boring ponytail and with my layered bangs. I exhaled deeply. The person smiling looked like the perky, goody two shoes princess I was when I was ten. No matter how many ripped jeans or old t-shirts I wore on regular days, I could never escape my girly counter self.

"Joy," I muttered as I strolled through the thinning halls towards my lockers. An announcement jolted me from my negative state as I turned the lock on my locker.

"All freshman are to report to the Gym in ten minutes. You will be excused from your homeroom." The powerful voice was female, and, as I guessed, was probably either the principle or vice principle. Her voice was edging confidence as she continued on with announcements for upperclassmen. I swear that if I met her, I'd be intimidated and awed at the same time.

"Yo," a voice said behind me. I turned and met the faces of a tall, very skin and bony, boy. He had thin framed circular glasses and sandy hair that looked like it needed brushing. His lenses were so thick, I couldn't see what color his eyes were, but his smile was prominent enough to distract from his glasses.

"Isn't that what people say?" he asked nervously. A laugh bubbled up my throat and sounded softly in the air, slow and unintentional.

"Some people do, I think," I replied, still laughing from his goofiness. He grinned and laughed with me, though his laugh was uncertain, as if he didn't know why he was laughing. This guy was a total nerd, I could tell as he stood in his tucked-in long sleeved light blue dress shirt and faded denim jeans, but I found myself chatting with him easily while we stood by our neighborly lockers, as if he were my best friend.

He told me that his name was Cole Marino, a freshman, like me. At first, I had to ask if he was serious, because of how tall he was. He was at least 6"6, but he shrugged and just grinned and made jokes that made no sense, until another announcement came on.

"Well," he sighed and continued, "I guess it's time for hero placement." He waited, possibly expecting me to go my own way, but I smiled and took his arm. Though we'd just met, it seemed as natural as breathing air. I asked him which way the Gym was, and he pointed it out and started mumbling that he could go another way. I shook my head and tugged his arm.

"We can go the same way," I said. He smiled in return and his cheeks turned a little pink. I chuckled at this and his pallor deepened until he was pure red-faced.

We walked the long hallways endlessly talking about school and the bus ride. He said he had found it exhilarating, but I admitted it had scared me out of my mind at first.

We came to the Gym doors and sneaked in, hoping we weren't late. The coach wasn't anywhere in sight, or at least, I didn't think he was, so we scrambled to the big, huddled group in the center of the Gym. Everyone was staring around them in wonder and a little bit of anxiety, even me. Cole stood, watching the crowd through his thick glasses, while I stood just looking around the Gym.

I'd heard about the coach here at Sky High, and his reputation for being really tough on students. He supposedly hated sidekicks, but who knows? Those were just rumors.

"Hey, goggles, do you mind?" Cole jumped and moved beside me, looking down at a four foot tall kid who, in my mind, looked too young to be in high school.

"Um," Cole turned red again and rubbed his neck nervously.

"Tsk, could you be any taller?" I glared at the girl as Cole began mumbling words that I couldn't hear.

"Oh yeah, could you be any shorter, shrimp?" I countered. The girl smirked and raised her eyebrows.

"I don't need to be tall to kick your ass," she deadpanned. I narrowed my eyes. She rolled her eyes and snorted, turning her attention to the gym.

After what seemed like forever, someone with a gym uniform walked in and a big chunk of the floor popped out. He walked up the few steps of the platform and held out a clipboard.

"What's your power?" I whispered to Cole. He half-smiled.

"You'll see," he muttered under his breath. The man in blue and white glared at the two of us. Shrimp girl snorted again. I sighed in frustration.

"My name is Coach Boomer. You may only call me Coach Boomer, not Boom, Boomster, or any of that, got it?" He asked. "I said, GOT IT?!" A loud sonic wave ran across the room, screeching over everyone's ears.

"Yes Coach Boomer!" Everyone shouted. I gulped. He began listing names, and calling up students.

"You, green boy, get up here." An average looking boy wearing forest green denim and a lighter green shirt, gulped and hurried up the steps.

"What's your power?" Boomer asked.

"I can t-teleport," green boy stumbled out. He was shaking violently.

"Car," Boomer said. Green boy gasped and vanished in a small bright green puff of smoke, making my eyebrows go up as I searched the room.

"Over here," he said. He looked up nervously at Boomer and waited as the coach contemplated his choices.

"Hero!" he shouted with a grin.

Green boy exhaled and smiled slightly, grabbed his bag, nearly zoomed out of the Gym, teleporting at the last minute.

Another handful of students went up and left, only four making hero, one of which was another teleporter, a girl that time, and the other seven making side-kick. I felt sweat bead at my neck as I waited. Shrimp girl was called after a while, and I mean that quite literally.

"Come on shortie pants, get up here," She uncrossed her arms and grinned.

"What's your power?" he asked when she stepped up to the stage like bulk.

"I can control the body." Boomer looked up from his clipboard and stared at her.

"Alright, but what's your power?" he asked once again. Shrimp girl, flicked one finger and Boomer's feet started moving.

"Dance," she demanded lightly. His feet did some weird turn and his whole body moved to inaudible music. Boomer dancing was freaky. Like, I wanted to throw up and laugh at the same time.

The whole room burst into laughter. As soon as she was done, Boomer stumbled and nearly fell off the stage before shouting, "Hero!" and then he came tumbling down. He landed on his back and grumbled a bunch of sarcastic remarks about the school before stomping up the stage again.

Shrimp girl smirked, giving me a look as she lightly skipped down the stairs. She fixed her red paint splatter shirt and adjusted her silver spike studded orange and black belt.

"See you around," she said sweetly as she picked up her backpack and headed for the door. She turned on her heel before she was five feet away and faced me, smiling.

"I'm Danny, by the way." She winked at Cole and turned once more, not stopping until she was out of the Gym. Cole and I looked at each other, eyebrows raised, and shrugged.

"All right, miss schoolgirl, you're up," Boomer sighed. My whole body froze as I realized I was who he meant. Though the group had diminished severely, there were still plenty of onlookers. I swallowed my fears and slowly stepped onto the stage.

"What's your power?" he asked in a bored tone. I looked out at the crowd and met Cole's eyes. He smiled reassuringly at me, giving me a thumbs up.

"Ice," I said, breaking my nervousness.

"Dummies," he shouted, or rather, boomed. A circle of dolls popped up from the stage edges, catching me by surprise, but only for an instant. I lifted both hands and pushed forward all my anxiety into my palms. My hand became enveloped in a clear substance, like frost, but I felt only the power flow out and erupt against the dummies. All at once, they froze in place and crumbled to the ground in large chunks of melting ice. I smiled proudly to myself as I met Boomer's eyes.

"Hero," he said blankly. That was all. He nodded for me to leave and I did, feeling disappointment creep through my skin. I had done as well as anyone else, hadn't I? I guess I wasn't very impressive, even if I had made hero. Anger flushed my face as I stormed down the stairs grabbed my bag, and rushed out with my absurd attitude. When I reached the Gym door and yanked it open, and turned to say later to Cole, he was already on the stage, rubbing his left arm and getting ready to demonstrate his power. His back was to me, so I just squirmed through the Gym door and left.

As soon as I was out of it, I ran into something solid.

"Ouch!" I yelled, tumbling to the ground and my backpack flying to the floor and spilling the crumpled old text books everywhere.

"Watch it," someone said. The voice was male, and I looked up to glare at the person...until I saw him. My eyes widened and I stared blankly at him. He was gorgeous. That was actually an understatement; he was drop dead delicious and drool worthy.

"Um, sorry," I said, gathering my bag. He turned and stared at me in return. We sat there, looking at each other for a second.

His hair was dark purple, with light indigo and sky blue streaks in his bangs and running down in one strip through to a short and spiked ponytail in the back. His eyes were what caught my eye, being so blue, not dark or light, but just…blue.

"Uh," He bit his lip and stood with obvious ease, gathering the books that had spilled from my back.

"Hi," I said. He looked up and handed me my books. "I'm Melody," I told him, feeling a small pink blush rise up.

"Derek," he said. I took the books in one hand and swung my bag onto my shoulder.

"Freshman?" he asked. I raised my eyebrows.

"How is it that everyone can tell I'm a freshman?" I demanded, glaring at the floor. He laughed. It sent chills over my arms.

"You just came from the Gym didn't you?" he asked. I smiled and nodded, letting out my angry breath. Jeez, what was wrong with me today? My temper needed to chill.

"Yeah."

"Hero or sidekick?" he asked, biting his lip.

"What if I said sidekick?" I asked. He cleared his throat and shifted his weight.

"I'd have to say cool." He paused, waiting for my answer.

I played with the edge of my white shirt. "Hero," I grinned. Being hero made me have a bit of an ego, so why had I freaked before in the Gym?

"Oh." His face dropped. "Sidekick," he said. I smiled.

"That's…" I frowned. "cool!" I finished off with a big smile and let out my breath. He exhaled in relief.

Behind me the doors bolted open. I turned and met the scene of Cole tumbling out with his bag falling halfway off of his shoulder. He pushed up his thick rimmed glasses and began righting himself.

"Hey Cole," I said. His mouth formed a large smile.

"Hi Melody," He paused and glanced between the two of us. "You headed to class?" he asked shyly. I wondered if he had made hero or not.

"Yep." I paused.

"I'll catch you later, um, Derek, right?" I asked coolly. Apparently, I had lost my mind, but not my game. That's one way to start high school.

"Yeah." This time, he paused. "Melody, right?" he asked, not covering up his fake tone. I rolled my eyes.

"Yes."

He winked and turned to leave, heading to Sidekick class.

"Where ya headed?" I asked Cole. We began walking steadily to class, but homeroom wasn't over for another few minutes, so we had time before the halls swarmed with upperclassmen buzzing about.

"Hero class," Cole whispered. He turned to see what my reaction was. I smiled as my draw dropped.

"That's great Cole!" His hidden smile appeared in full glory. "What's your power?" I asked. He smiled even wider, as if he alone would know. I knew for a fact that half the freshman class had just seen, so what was he hiding?

"You'll find out." he said. He ruffled his hair a bit, and I just then noticed that his hair was sort of damp. My eyebrows furrowed as I wondered what he was keeping hidden. I shrugged and let it go, wanting to hurry to hero class. My excitement overpowered my icky temper as we strolled along the plain hallways. We both chatted the entire way, and any passing teachers shushed us, which made me just laugh and talk more. Not that I needed encouragement to keep a conversation; Cole was really funny, despite his geeky look.

We finally found our way to hero class. I walked in and smiled, looking for the teacher in the huge classroom.

"Please take your seats," an unexpectedly high male voice said. I turned and had to blink a few times. The teacher was a guy in a white doctor's coat, with an enormous head. But that wasn't what startled me.

The annoying guy from the bus was in this class.


	3. Ice Surfing and Bubbling Green Goo

Chapter three: ice surfing and bubbling green goo

"Please take your seats, students." The teacher with the large head cleared his throat. "Mister Marino, you may sit in the front row. Miss Shard, third row." The teacher returned to pouring some light, greenish liquid into a container.

I gave Cole a half smile and walked over to the third row, sitting as far from the annoying guy as possible. Why was he in this class? Was he a freshman too? Or was he just some slacker upperclassmen?

"Would our two TAs, please explain the instructions to our incoming students. I'm sure there will be more interruptions soon."

The TA closest to me, a girl with a dozen braids of dark brown hair and super pale skin turned to me and handed me a pen. I grabbed my folder from my bag and started writing notes as the girl explained the instructions.

We were doing a sort of experiment; we were making some kind of concoction where everyone would take a sip, and after that, whatever the effects were, we had to use our own skills to figure out how to reverse the effects. The only problem was, the teacher couldn't help us, or tell us what would happen. So if one of his students had their head blown up, it wouldn't be his fault.

The TA handed my a small vial and told me to pour so much of the green liquid that was handed out in. After she asked me some questions on my own theories, and told me to write them down, I was told to spit in the vial.

"Do what?" I asked disbelievingly. She sighed in frustration.

"Spit in the vial. Then after it bubbles up, drink it." I nearly vomited right there and then, but when I turned to ask the teacher, I saw him yelling at another student for asking the same thing. I took a deep breath and spit into the vial of barf looking goo. It didn't bubble up right away, but when it was done with its bubbling and spluttering, it turned a soft white color with a tint of blue. I peeked next to me and saw that along the row, other students were turning other colors. One kids was tie-dye, which pretty cool, and some girls was giving off fireworks. I glanced over at Cole's and saw his was clear and watery, dark at the bottom of the test tube and light like sea foam on top. That got me curious, and for a while I seriously wanted to know what the heck that kid's power was.

I turned back to my own vial and lifted it, gazing at its contents as the liquid swirled around.

"Cheers," I mumbled, downing it in case it tasted nasty. What was weird though, was it was actually okay. It tasted like cinnamon and spice, and cotton candy and watermelon, and fresh rain, all at the same time. I felt a sort of giddiness flow through me and a chill run down my spine as I waited for something to happen.

"It takes about ten minutes for the potion to take effect. Maybe less, if you're unlucky." The teacher smirked happily and continued to make his own little potion. He didn't drink his, only observed it as if it was the most boring thing in the world.

One student reacted immediately; his face turn green, and he started gagging.

"Miss Porter, would you please take Mister Mills to the nurse?" The girl next to me nodded, her braids jumping with her every movement, and stood up, patting the gagging boy as she led him out of the classroom.

Another two students reacted not long after that, though the results weren't nearly as bad as the sick boy. One started sniffing the air frantically, and she couldn't stop itching. The other one just talked super fast, and got faster the more she talked. Both were sent to the nurse, though the talking girl was just annoying, not in danger.

Ten minutes went by very quickly, and before I knew it, half the class were in the nurse's office, or sent home. The worst case was that some poor kid started screaming and was attacked by a swarm of bees. At one point, the boy next to me started to doze off, and when he began drooling, it didn't stop until the nurse came and got him. Not all of the reactions were bad; one girl could fly, though that wasn't her power and it only lasted about six minutes before she fell onto a desk and broke her arm, and someone else turned into this wish granting genie, only she could grant her own wishes, not others. Turns out she really is a wish granting super hero, but she's never had the chance to wish for something, even if it lasted about a minute.

Cole's reaction was really strange. He ripped open his shirt and shouted some cheesy catch phrase, reminding me of one of the weird superheroes from old comic books, and jumped on a desk. After that, he passed out and landed on the teacher's potion, getting green slime all over him.

After Cole got off the potion, someone screamed from behind my row. I jerked around and saw the test tubes with other liquid in them, most likely because of the fireworks girl, had exploded in the entire row's faces.

I couldn't help it; I laughed. And then, my potion reacted.

I felt all tingly before it happened, and I knew that something bad was about to occur. And then I jumped up and walked to one of the windows, my feet ignoring my protesting thoughts. I lifted one hand and froze the window enough so it shattered when just the smallest breeze hit it. After the window was opened large enough for me to jump out, I stepped on the edge, and looked down.

My inner instinct screamed for me not to jump; I suddenly realized that I had inherited my dad's fear of heights. A big thank you to dad, may your fears haunt you forever.

I gulped, but my feet continued to walk closer to the edge, and as I lifted one foot, ready to jump, despite the frustration of my feet not listening to me, and my need to turn around, I let go of the window and felt my body descend onto the waiting ground. The grass was probably soft, sure, but that wouldn't break my fall. A million things passed through my mind; how I wanted to tell my mom and dad I loved them, and also give my dad a lecture on his fear of heights, and kiss my little sister and brother. I wondered what kind of relationship I had with Cole, if we could ever really be friends, or if Danny was destined to be my enemy, and that cute boy Derek would ever like me. All these thoughts were so trivial as I fell, but they seemed important at the time.

My life didn't flash before my eyes, to my relief, as in barely a second of falling, I felt my body jerk up. I looked up to see a someone holding onto me, with several others grasping for my hand, even though they didn't know me.

I felt a wave of relief that there was still a chance I wouldn't die wash over me.

"Hold on!" The one who had caught me, who I realized with a start was Cole, shouted. He may have been very skinny, but it seemed like his had some muscle.

I sighed and looked down, realizing there was a small ledge, not big enough for me to land on, but sticking out enough for me to make it bigger. I stuck my hand towards it, and let my fears flow through to palm like in the gym, and a smooth wave of ice flowed out to the ledge, making it much bigger.

"Drop me!" I shouted to Cole. He gave me a shocked look before I exhaled in annoyance. "Trust me!" I said. He didn't look convinced, but dropped me, none the less. I felt my body fall again, only this time I landed with a thump onto my ledge of ice. It was cold and slippery, but I felt my muscles relax as I leaned against the wall behind me.

"Miss Shard, I regret to inform you, that though your skills at defending against the potion are in vain," The teacher started from the window. I groaned inwardly, knowing I was about to receive a failing grade. "you will receive full marks for this first assignment." He frowned, but clapped his hands, and so did some of the other students.

I whooped in joy, and jumped to my feet, and just as I did, I felt the ice crack under my body weight. "Uh-oh." I whispered weakly, as the small piece of ledge broke into a million pieces and I fell again.

"Great!" I shouted sarcastically. Instead of falling to my demise like before, I commanded my feet to move enough so I could make a another ledge of ice. Finally, they listened, and I wanted to shout with happiness as I stuck my hand out and felt the ice form. This time, it had nothing to latch onto, and so, made a mid-air chunk of ice that resembled a surfboard, only square. I stood on it and moved my hand across my feet to make feet belts, and as the huge block of ice and I impacted the ground, I felt only a small amount of vibrations before it exploded beneath me and I fell to my bottom. Surprisingly, it didn't hurt as much as I thought it would, but the panic that had risen in my throat still stood present.

If I had earned an A before, then I should have passed onto sophomore year after that.

I wiped my forehead of the forming sweat and stood up, more than a little wobbly. The walk back to the classroom was not fun as the bell rang and I grabbed my backpack.

Cole met up with me, asking so many questions I thought my head would explode like the ice.

"The teacher wasn't very worried, but the whole class was freaking out! You could have been seriously hurt! But you're sure you're okay? No bruises? Bumps? Nicks? Scratches?" He continued to bother me with questions as we walked along the hall. As I reached my next class, I finally replied.

"Listen Cole, I just have a really bad headache, but I'm fine, I swear." I smiled reassuringly, and he bought into it, but I didn't mention that the headache was not from the wacko fall I'd just had.


	4. Getting Killed in PE

Chapter four: getting killed in p.e.

The gym was exactly like it was an hour ago, except there was no platform in the middle of the hard wood floor. There was a group of students coming in that were looking nervous, and then another group that looked excited, confident. I figured that ego side was my class, and the other must have been side kicks.

"Hey, side kicks, why don't you go find yourselves another gym? This one's ours!" one of the buff kids in my group shouted. A lot of the side kicks blushed or glared or began nervously fiddling with hair and biting nails.

"Leave them alone Tom," said a voice from behind. I peeked around buff guy—Tom—and saw a guy with short spiky black hair and smooth bronze skin. I expected simple brown eyes to go with his average but lovely to watch features, but instead they were green, like fresh cut grass.

"Damn it, Ian, I'm just having some fun over here. Besides, it is _our_ gym. They need to go somewhere else."

I rolled my eyes. "No, what they need to do is none of your concern you big meat head." I said. "Besides, this gym could never belong to someone as pea brained as you." I crossed my arms over my chest and started for the locker rooms to change into my gym clothes, ignoring any comebacks that Tom could think up in the few seconds it took for me to walk to the locker room.

When I returned, there were bleachers set up, and a teacher was standing with the side kicks, giving them instructions. I stood back with my crowd and looked around for anyone to talk to. I found that shrimp girl was in this class, but like I was going to chat with her.

"Hey," said that pretty voice from before. I jerked my head to the side and couldn't help but smile at the gorgeous person beside me. "That was pretty brave, what you did there." He beamed down at me, and I chuckled.

"It was nothing," I breathed out, and caught a whiff of something spicy, like cinnamon. That guy was hot and smelled good. Okay, so what was the record? Two super hunky guys in one day? That annoying guy didn't count. And Cole was okay, but was too nerdy for my taste. Oh my god, I was turning into the snobbish high school version of my mother.

"Yeah, it was. No one stands up to Tom when he's teasing. He's one of those bullies you never can get rid of. But that's my best friend, so whatever."

"Your best friend?" I frowned and asked in disbelief.

He sighed at my question, expecting it. "Yep. Since grade school." He cleared his throat and turned to watch as coach Boomer came out and started yelling at the other teacher.

"How come? He seems a little dim to be called friend." He didn't respond to that, but smiled instead.

"In first grade, I was made fun of because of my power. People called me some names and teased me every day after school. Then one day, this new kid shows up; Tom, or Tomcat back then," I giggle and he grinned. Tomcat? For that lump? Yikes.

"Anyways, he started telling them not to, and even beat a couple of them up. After that, no one messed with me, or him. A few years later, I asked him why he stood up for me; it turned out he had a power too, and had been called a freak at his old school. Friends ever since." He beams. From behind us, Tom shouted something at the coach, who ignored him and continued his argument with the other teacher.

"So why all the hostility towards side kicks? What did they ever do to him?" He frowned and shifted uncomfortably.

"One killed his mom a couple of years ago. Some villain's side kick did it on a mission, and he hasn't forgot it. He hates side kicks now."

"But that was just one. Not all of them. Not everyone is going to grow up and be evil." He half smiled. The coach turned towards our group as the side kicks left, disappointment written on their faces, and told us to sit on the bleachers and wait for him to get the cart.

"Tom has it set in his mind that all side kicks are bad. There's no convincing him otherwise." I shook my head and sat down on one of the higher bleachers, watching as the floor opened and a net appeared, along with clear walls surrounding it. Another two groups of heroes piled in, these ones chatting and yelling and making obnoxious noises.

"Juniors," he explained.

"What about sophomores?" I asked, trying to speak over the growing loud noises.

"Already here," he whispered, grinning.

"You're a sophomore?" I breathed. I had thought that he was a freshman, like me. Oh boy.

"Yeah. And you're a freshman. My name's Ian. Yours?"

"Melody." I smiled softly as a group of freshman kids gathered around the center where I sat.

The side kicks who had left earlier came back in gym clothes, and with more people, though they were still quite small, and seated themselves in the mix of heroes.

"Victor! Stop!" someone yelled. I glanced over to where the voice had come from to see two freshman who looked exactly alike playing around. The girl was smiling but flicking away her twin's hand as he imitated her. They both had brown hair and brown eyes and super pale skin, and I noticed with a few blinks that the boy was the green wearing teleporter from before, and the girl was dressed in an orange-red and blue mismatch of clothes. The boy saw me watching and stopped smiling, and as the girl tried figuring out why he stopped, she turned towards me too.

I blushed madly and turned away, feeling like an eavesdropping spy.

"Hi!"

I jumped and looked up to the girl moving and sitting in the row in front of Ian and me, with her brother following. He had his hands shoved in his pockets, and didn't look too happy about following, but did so without complaint, sitting next to his sister and turning away.

"I'm Victoria Porter." said the girl, holding out a hand and beaming. I took it and smiled in return. "My friend's call me Vivi. And this is Victor." She pointed to her brother who only jerked his head in response. I bit my lip to keep from smirking and saying some insulting remark to Victor.

"I call him Vic though, so I won't mind if you do." She giggled and flipped back a strand of hair that had fallen from one of her loose pigtails that sat neatly against her neck and close to her ears.

Vivi spoke animatedly to me for the next few minutes, until the coach came back and started announcing our assignment for the class. We were playing super volleyball, with a twist. Not only was it boys against girls and six to six, but the volleyball was on fire, and there were three others.

The coach picked a group mix of Juniors and Sophomores first, to demonstrate how the game worked. They all headed down with smiles and smirks and chuckles as the coach tossed down twelve pairs of heat resistant gloves. I doubted that the gloves would help, and had to remind myself that this was a super school, they wouldn't do anything too dangerous. Then again, I remembered my science class, and gulped. I was dead if they picked me.

The four volleyballs were thrown in the air once the teams had been formed, and the game started with a loud roar from the crowd. After a while, Vivi and I got really into it and started whooping when the girls scored and booing when boys. One of the boys got burned really bad and was sent to the nurse, but it seemed like the girls were winning. Fifteen minutes passed, and the two teams were tied, when the coach boomed out that there would be a new team, and a new twist—there would be no Juniors in the game. I inhaled and exhaled with sudden panic as he scanned the crowds. He picked the boys team first, choosing five freshman and one sophomore, which was annoying guy, and then went on to the girls. He picked no sophomores, and instead chose shrimp girl, two side kicks, one random buff girl, Vivi, and continued to scan the crowd for his final victim. He chose a random girl with blonde pigtails and braces, who skipped merrily to the net. I breathed out in relief and watched the game.

It seemed as though the guys were at an advantage, and I noticed with a start that Cole and annoying guy were the best players. Cole slipped once, and after that, he wasn't as valuable to the team. Shrimp girl was the best on the girls team, but braces, who could blow up like a balloon, and Vivi, who could teleport like her brother, were doing fine. When braces and one of the boys smacked the flaming ball as the same time and collided into them, they were both out, and the coach again looked for another player. Vic was chosen, to his unhappiness, and then, when my name was called, or at least, Freeze Kid, I literally jumped and glared at the floor as I descended the bleachers and into the clear box that I already hated.

The girls team seemed to have made shrimp girl their leader, so when I started making strong suggestions and insulting shrimp, they got confused. I narrowed my eyes at shrimp girl and she growled what I supposed was an insult; she called me a blue faced turkey with a piece of glass shoved up my ass. Which, I laughed at, and pissed her off.

The team ended up splitting our game plan and improvised where needed. I was positioned across from annoying guy, shrimp girl was guarding Cole, and the other all were spread out. When the flying balls of fire were thrown into the air, I felt my annoyance with shrimp girl come out and froze my hand, so that I wouldn't feel any heat. At the last minute I jumped in the air and pounded the first ball; Vivi got the second, though her shouts of pain indicated she was burned, and the buff girl found the third, pounding it with all her strength into the ground. It dug deep into the wood floor, crackling the edges, and sent vibrations throughout the gym floor. We all looked for the fourth ball, and I narrowed my eyes as I saw who had it; annoying guy. Not only did he have it and not care, but he was increasing the flames. I pulled off the gloves and clenched my fists together, glaring at him as he tossed the ball. I jumped only a second after him and thickened the frost on my hand, reaching out to smack the ball as he hit it towards me.

I got it, thankfully, but another ball came hurtling towards me after I smacked the other one to the ground, freezing it as I did. The second ball slid across my arm and scalded it, making me cry out. Annoying guy looked to the one who had hit it, some side kick who shrugged, and rolled his eyes like he couldn't care less.

"Mel, you okay?" Shrimp girl called, as if annoyed by my being hurt.

"Yeah," I got out. My arm hurt; and no matter how much frost I mustered up, it melted beneath it. I finally stood tall and refroze my hands, also freezing my arms and legs just in case someone tried to pull another stunt like that.

The game resumed, and instead of falling into pain and skipping out, I got angry, and started hurtling the ball towards anyone in my way, even Cole, who bailed at the last minute.

Finally, the coach blew his whistle and called for us to head to the nurse after a quick change. I jogged to the locker room and changed into my little school girl outfit without relish, wishing for the gym shorts and baggy t-shirt, and started for the nurse when shrimp girl came over.

"Hey." She said, studying me with half closed eyes and raised eyebrows. She put her arms over her chest, trying to look fierce, but surprisingly, looked like my mom when she was mad.

"Yeah?" I deadpanned.

"You were pretty awesome out there."

I smirked and she did so too. "Ditto."

After all six of us left for the nurse, Vivi and buff girl chatting up a storm, I felt a compromise between shrimp girl and me, like we weren't enemies, although definitely not friends, but allies. The nurse checked over everyone and declared we were all fine. She put some cream on my burn and told me to freeze it for fifteen minutes and unfreeze, and vice versa until tonight. I did so, trying harder to put a thick layer of frost on the burn. Without the distraction of the game, I could concentrate much better, and the burn cooled off enough for me to relax my arm and swing my backpack over my shoulder. Shrimp girl hadn't gotten burned, it seemed, but she had twisted her ankle trying to get the ball that had been shot at me. I thanked her and she grunted in return, but I saw the smirk as we left the nurse.

"Melody!" I heard from behind. I turned just as Cole came stumbling into the group of girls, just as the bell rang.

"Hey, are you all right?" I asked. He smiled faintly and nodded, pushing his glasses up his the bridge of his nose. Shrimp girl snorted.

"You should be half broken by now goggles." Vivi wrinkled her nose and defended Cole.

"Well! I used my body control on him so he couldn't move, which is why I missed that stupid flying ball when it hit the ice queen over here. I swear, if I ever see that idiotic side kick again, I'm gonna pound him." She pounded her palm and fist together and shook her head. I felt a kind of smugness as she threatened the unknown boy and walked with us along the hall. The buff girl and the other left, heading out, but Vivi and Shrimp girl stayed, and even Vic caught up with us, mumbling to Vivi something about their next class. She looked on her schedule and ran her finger across the page, looking for period three.

"I have Strategy Algebra next." she said with an obvious liking of math.

I pull out my crumpled up schedule and smooth it out to see what my schedule is. I already had Mad Science, and the gym time was what my schedule calls a 'welcome combat game', but I'll have normal combat classes every day this week. Third period is Strategy Algebra, then HNTMTSM History HTTOTW Studies at the same time, lunch, then sixth period is Super English for the common Super Hero, and finally, Free Class, which lasts half an hour and is a free choice.

"Yeah, I have that next period to. What about fourth period?" I asked. Shrimp Girl recited hers from memory, as did Cole.

"Free Class, Combat Training, Strategy Algebra, EFTCSH, HNTMTSM and HTTOTW, and then Mad Science. I think I'm going with Power Enrichment class for my choice elective." Shrimp girl says without an emotion crossing her face. Someone bumped her and she stoped to yell at them and ended up locking their body so they can't move.

"Well, um, I have Mad Science, Combat Training, Strategy Algebra, Free Class, the history classes, and English."

"Same thing, except switch Mad Science and English. Yikes." Vivi stuck out her tongue in distaste and pokes Vic in the side. He nods and shoves his hands in his pocket, ignoring his twin sister.

"I have MS, CT, SA, History, English and the free class, which, I'm going with something fun. What classes can you pick from?" I asked. The others continued walking with a shrug and shrimp girl caught up.

"Oh, uh, I think you can choose from Power Enrichment, where they help you control your powers, a Dead Language class, though some of the languages aren't really dead, or you can be on the Student Council."

"Wow, they let you have a class all for student council?" He nodded with a frown. Vivi and Vic parted ways and headed to their own lockers with a wave, Vivi excitedly jumping up and down for strategy algebra class. After I grab my math book and shove it in my backpack, I turn and bump into the person next to me.

"Watch it!" said the girl who I collided with. She turned around and sent me a glare which I sent back, but I almost jerked away. Not only had it been the TA from Mad Science, but I realized with curiosity that she looked a lot like Vivi, except taller, with her many braids, and also her constant frown.

"Oh. Freshman." She sighed and turned around.

"Hey, Cat, why didn't you beat that kid up?" asked the small chubby girl beside her.

"She's a freshman." She muttered. 'Cat' shoved her books in her locker and walked away, the little pudge following after her. "Shut up Bree." I heard as they walked away.

I turned back to my own locker and slammed it shut, exhaling deeply as Cole and shrimp girl and I walked to our next class.

"Hey shrimp, what do you think they serve for lunch?" Shrimp girl froze and narrowed her eyes.

"I have a name," she said through her teeth. "it's Danny."

"Fine. Danny." I smirked and turned around, feeling the electric waves flow through to me; geez, take a joke?


	5. Meatloaf Surprise? Best ammo ever!

Chapter Five: Meatloaf surprise? Best ammo _ever_

Strategy algebra and my history classes went by without incident, and I have to say, I was disappointed. After mad science and almost dying in the combat welcome game, it was a let down that nothing happened. Actually, it almost felt like regular school, because I fell asleep in history and passed notes in algebra. The only reason I didn't get in trouble was, and to quote my teachers, 'It's the first day of school, they didn't care if I set a bomb off, let alone fell asleep in class.'

I met up with Cole, Danny, Vivi and Vic and we all hurried to lunch, our noses guiding the way, as every upperclassmen we passed just laughed or told us to get lost, which was idiotic to say because we were already lost.

"Jeez, you guys are really dumb aren't you?" Danny grinned and sniffed the air. When she pointed to the hall opposite of the way we were originally gonna go, Cole laughed at, I'm assuming, our stupidity for choosing wrong, but Danny took it the wrong way and stepped on his foot. He wailed in pain before we all skedaddled to the cafeteria.

Of course, it was packed by the time we got there, and the only food left was leftover meatloaf surprise.

"Ugh, I hate meatloaf." complained Vivi, a frown forming on her face. She poked her plate of soggy meatloaf with a fork and sighed.

"I'll eat it," announced Danny and I at the same time. We both turned and glared at each other until Vic said he didn't want his either and handed his plate to Danny. Vivi handed hers to me, but before I could take a bite, something hit my back.

"Oops," I heard, and then a giggle followed it. I stood and turned to narrow my eyes at the giggling bimbo blonde who threw her meatloaf, but a smile started pinching my lips, because, oh boy, I would have to change out of my stupid plaid skirt. _Victory!_

I opened my mouth to shout something, but Danny suddenly yelled, "Food fight!" and I thankfully managed to duck before more meatloaf hit me square in the face. I frowned and lifted to my eyes just in time to see everyone immediately start throwing their food, and one tray of meatloaf surprise hit bimbo blondie on the side of her face, making her wail in distress and her cheeks burn with color. She stood and ran out of the cafeteria, three small girls following after her.

Another pile of meatloaf came soaring towards me, and though I honestly didn't mind the glob of soggy meatloaf that was staining my skirt, I didn't want to get hit with any more of the nasty stuff. Out of nowehere, a chair slid in front of the flying meatloaf's path and someone scooted next to me. I smiled when I turned to see the pretty face of Derek, and beside him, a red headed kid who was blushing and looking back and forth between the chair and the flying food all around him.

"Looks like we got to save the damsel after all, huh Zayne?" chuckled Derek as he ducked away from flying rice pudding.

The red head, who I figured was Zayne, smiled softly and moved behind Derek, as if he were afraid of getting hit. I frowned but thanked Derek for saving me, wondering why this Zayne kid was being so frightened.

"Hey, Melody, got anymore ammo?" asked Derek. I grinned and handed him my trays of meatloaf, which he gladly started chucking at random people who tried ducking but failed.

Derek turned when he was running low on ammo and grinned at me. "Melody, meet Zayne, my best friend." Zayne's cheeks reddened and he held out a hand in an oddly graceful manner.

"Pleased to meet you, Melody." he said in an accent I couldn't place. I smiled and politely shook his hand, but quickly turned my attention back to avoiding meatloaf and rice pudding.

Derek spoke loudly over the roar of flying food and shouting teenagers, "Zayne's a sophomore like me, but he's in hero class. He's telepathic."

"I would have explained to her, Derek, if you would let me get a word in edge wise." Zayne sighed prettily and then it clicked.

"You're gay," I stated out loud, and then clamped my hand over my mouth, my face darkening to embarrassment.

To my humiliation, Zayne only smiled and laughed good naturedly. "Yes, was it terribly obvious?"

Derek frowned. "Of course it was, you dummy. You act like a girl half the time and the other half you're a prissy little princess." Zayne frowned and crossed his arms over his chest.

"I'll have you know, I am not a girl, nor will I ever be, and though I am not royalty, I do appreciate_ that_ compliment." He humphed and ducked behind my back as a bowl of veggies flew past us.

"You are so a girl, and if that was a compliment, then I'll never bring it up again." Derek paused and turned to me. "Zayne thinks he's royalty because his great aunt was related to a prince." I nodded and turned to Zayne. _Now that I think about it, he does hold himself more elgantly than most guys, even if they were homosexual. Or maybe I'm just being judgemental and idiotic. I really need to stop labelling people._

When Derek whooped after landing a score on a poor nerdy looking boy, I punched him on the arm and he rubbed it while mocking me.

I laughed and grabbed a chunk of meatloaf, threw it, and ducked back under my chair. An outraged cry told me I'd made a hit before everything went silent.

"Who—threw—this?" demanded a very angry girl who stood and narrowed her eyes, searching the room at the guilty looks. Beside her, the TA from earlier, Cat, and her sidekick Bree, both smirked and followed her gaze until they landed on our table.

This girl was also a blondie, but the girl before had obviously been a freshman like me, and the girl storming towards our table was definitely not a freshman. She was tall, had a nearly perfect golden tan that made her pretty blonde hair stand out and shine even more, and her eyes were a dark shade of green. I gulped and slunk back under the table, feeling her eyes training on me accusingly. When she turned her gaze to Vivi, who was fully covered in every food imaginable, and started yelling at her, I jumped up and clenched my hands into fists.

"Hey, you have no right to accuse someone you don't know actually hit you!" She turned to face me and crossed her arms over her chest, her eyes sharp and annoyed. "For all you know, I could have been the one to hit you." Actually, I had no idea whether or not I was the one to hit her. My chances were fifty fifty, but I didn't care. I wasn't going to let someone pick on a newly discovered friend of mine just because she had a strong assumption.

She waited a few seconds after I had blown off my steam and finished yelling at her before she slowly stepped towards me.

"And who, exactly, do you think you are? Hm?" She grabbed my arm, and though I wanted to jerk out of her grasp, but I knew I had the advantage if she tried something while she held my arm. I ground my teeth together and stood my ground.

"Listen, freshman," she paused and flicked back her hair, revealing double pierced ears with beautiful emerald bobs and hanging silver slivers. "I run this school. If you ever so much as come near me again, I'll crush you to a million pieces." She let go of my arm, but didn't step back.

I lifted my chin bravely, my anger running the show, and whispered through my teeth, "Go ahead and try it. I'll beat you right back."

That surprised her, as she blinked at me a few times before turning and strutting out of the cafeteria with her lackies, as if it were a runaway. With a last flick of her golden blonde hair, she left, and all was quiet in the cafeteria as everyone shifted to grab their backpacks and start cleaning the mess.

"Detention, Miss Cuerpo," I heard before I snacked up my backpack and hurried out of the cafeteria to my locker, eager to get to my next class. Danny met up with me, grumbling about her detention, with a grinning Cole and Vivi behind her, and frowning Victor.

Danny sighed and swung open her locker a few down from mine, grabbing her backpack and swinging it around her shoulder. "See you after class." She smiled, saluted and ran off her next period. Vivi leaned against a locker and smiled.

"I know we just met and all, but Vic and I are having our birthday party this weekend, wanna come by? It's mostly just family, but our mom would be happy to have some of our friends too." I thought about my plans for the weekend and shivered. Babysitting again, because mom was going to Rome for the next two weeks and dad had some seriously time consuming meetings at work this weekend. I nodded eagerly to Vivi, and decided to call the old babysitter that mom hired when I was little.

"Great! Here, I wrote down the address and our cells, though don't call Vic, he never answers." Vic rolled his eyes and continued his frowning. "The party starts at six on Saturday. Think you can tell Danny when you see her again? Oh, and it's also sleepover, but you won't need to bring anything. We have guest rooms." Vivi smiled, waved, and dragged Vic off.

Then I frowned and shoved the piece of paper Vivi had handed me in my pocket, groaning. "What?" Cole asked.

"My parents are going to be away this weekend. I'll have to walk to their house." I sighed and slammed my locker shut, then headed for the girl's bathroom. Cole caught up to me and stopped short before he followed me into the bathroom. Now that would have been embarrassing.

"Wait!" I stopped too. He grinned. "My parents are out of town too, and that means I can take their car. I could pick you up..." I beamed and hugged him briefly.

"You're amazing Cole! Thank you!" He blushed and rubbed the back of his neck, while I thanked him again and shooed him away before I went into the bathroom and began the useless attempt to clean my skirt. I grinned as I did, thinking to myself that mom would have a fit and never let me wear it again. Ah, sometimes life was good.

School ended, and though the bus ride home was just as thrilling as the first time, I was a bit eager to get home and lay it on mom everything that had happened today. Despite her having to deal with her career and two bratty kids, I knew I could always count on her to make time for hanging out or talking—not that hanging out with parents was cool or anything! I just liked having someone around that wasn't insane to talk to once in a while, and if that person was my mom, so be it.

I got home, tossed my backpack in my room and hurriedly scrambled out of my clothes and into worn denim jeans that I had had for a year and a half and had yet to rip holes into, and a loose fitting sky blue tee.

"Melody, is that you?" called my mom from her downstairs study. I grinned, laid the stained plaid skirt over my arm, and skipped down the stairs, proudly showcasing my skirt.

I entered her study and plopped down in a chair, holding out the stained part of the skirt for her to clearly see. "Hey mom." I said cheerily. From where I sat, I could tell she was having some sort of inspirational eureka. Color and pattern palettes were strewn across her large desk and pinned to her white board with little flower and car magnets, stacks of paper were lying on the floor with scribbles of drawings and rough drafts of ideas. Her computer was playing one of her favorites composers, Yiruma, in the background, and after one song ended, another began.

"How was your day?" she asked robotically, shading in one of her drawings. She didn't even turn to face me. I sighed and put in a pitiful tone.

"It was great mom," I said drearily.

"Mm-hm, that's nice sweetie." She tossed the drawing she was working on aside and started another.

I groaned as loudly as I could manage. "But mom, look what happened!" This time, she did turn, and shot straight out of her chair when she did, grabbing at the skirt. Her face reddened and her mouth opened in a wordless scream.

"How—what—why—Melody!" She growled, her eyes growing icy. I remained seated and calm, alligator tears filling my eyes.

"It wasn't my fault! Well, not entirely. There was a food fight at school, and—"

My mom pinched the bridge between her nose. "I don't care how it happened," she started, trying to be more calm. "but I swear, Melody Shard, you will never wear nice skirts like this to school again!" she grumbled, and then rightfully stomped from the study to the laundry room to try to wash out the stain. I smiled happily and skipped to the kitchen to make myself a snack of vinegar salt chips and a peanut butter sandwich.

I heard the door slam and dad came in with a red faced Sarah and a teary eyed Jesse both arguing about some toy. He hugged me and smiled wearily before opening the fridge and grabbing a diet coke.

"How was school?" He asked as Jesse and Sarah chased each other up to their rooms, yanking hair and jerking limbs. I sighed.

"It was okay. I got in a food fight and ruined that skirt mom begged me to wear, I almost fell to my doom in Mad Science, and combat training was fun." He chuckled and set down his can of diet coke, leaning against a chair.

Now, when you look at my dad, you wouldn't consider that we were related, because I looked nothing like him, except for my hair, of course. While he was 6"2 and I obviously got my height from him, he had light, freckled skin that was aging swiftly and already wrinkling around the eyes and mouth, and mine was clear and a little darker. His eyes were brown, but they looked almost gray, like my grandparent's eyes, and my were light blue. Although his hair was still the blonde that mine was, his was thinner than mine and cut awkwardly.

"That's my girl," he said, ruffling my bangs. I smiled and finished off my sandwich and shoved the chips back in the pantry.

I sat down on a stool and spun around a few times before stopping to ask my dad about the party. "I met these two, Vivi and Vic, and their birthday is this weekend. They're having a party and they invited me," I paused and tried to put on the sweetest face imaginable, but my dad, as usual, was not fooled by it. He rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Alright, you can go," I almost let out a squeal, but he stopped me. "If, you get all your chores done by Friday, you have a nanny set up for your brother and sister, and make sure that their parents give me a call." I stood, hugged him gratefully, and started for the stairs.

"And," I stopped and turned, waiting for blow of the catch. "You have to tell your mother." I groaned and started to plead, but he just gave me a look and gulped down the rest of his diet coke.

I frowned and ran up the stairs, sinking down on my bedroom floor to start homework and work up a plan to tell mom. I finished what little homework I had been given within the hour and for the next few hours, I deceived a plan that was fool proof. I only hoped that my mom was in a good mood.


End file.
